Crews

Yes, the hardest part of every writing piece. No, I am not talking about when you are in the middle of writing Chapter 1, and you don't know what to say. No no. I am talking about the VERY beginning. I am writing a fantasy novel with elves, dwarves, dragons, knights, the whole lot. I don't wish to reveal much, for my ideas are mine. But how should I literally sit down and start?

I have several ideas in my head, some of them written down, some of them just thought bubbles. But how do I get the show on the road? I'm talking, literally, how do I plan it out? What materials should I use to plan it out. In a notebook, I have numerous ideas I have written down, and in my head, I have a basic idea for a plot. In another notebook, I have a very large list of fantasy names and whatnot, so naming characters and places are not a problem.

But I am really asking, how do I start plotting it out? Should I get a large piece of paper and start from there? Should I open up a Word document and write a basic summary of what is going to happen, and then plan it out chapter-by-chapter? How? I need to how what exactly to do to get planning my novel. I can write, that is not the problem though. It is the planning. So, how should I start planning my fantasy novel?

cbrmale

Should I open up a Word document and write a basic summary of what is going to happen, and then plan it out chapter-by-chapter?

That is how I do my plans, but nobody can tell you EXACTLY how YOU should plan. Even so, I think you have answered your own question.

Knightskye

I usually start mine by writing a line including one of the characters. It usually just flows after that, until, like you said, in the middle of 'Chapter One' when writer's block hits. I'm sure it doesn't work like that for everyone, but I think you should try it.

He sat, alone, in the middle of the field.

Or, you know, wherever your setting is. You know what your story's about, and where it takes place. And no, it doesn't have to look poetic, since you're just starting your story.

Crews

I would just like to know how others plan their novels so I can mold different styles into my own. Thank you cbrmale.

Thank you Knightskye for your suggestion too.

Does anyone else have a different style of planning?

wmd

you pretty much did answer your own question. There is not a right way to start. Just do it. Even if you take a notebook and fill it with everything in your head then organize it later. That is a start.

Here is how I started my current WIP.

I had the idea for a couple of years, so it is very well developed in my head. I wrote out the concept of the world and the important points of the history. I also wrote the important things that will happen in the first book.

Then I wrote character sheets for each of the main characters of book one. Not how they look, but what they do how they feel what they like, things that will happen to them things that did happen to them yadda yadda yadda.

and that is it. I did not write an outline for book one. I know how it begins and how it ends and many points in between that I need to visit. That is enough to complete the journey. I can always edit later.

The cool thing is that with that planning I did, I now have seeds and ideas for stories and novels that fit into the series, so it will grow more and more as I write.

So do whatever works for you.

The one thing I have learned though is be careful about too much planning. After a while it just becomes a way to put off doing the actual writing of the book.

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Crews

Wow, thank you very much. I will definitely take the Character Sheets into consideration. Thank you.

Anyone else?

aspiring

I use two different methods.

1. Write events on post-it notes (the things that are going to happen in the book, one on each note) and then stick them onto my wall - this means I can move them around until I have a balanced plotline
2. A big spider diagram or mind map, with a central concept in the middle bubble and then lots and lots of ideas/characters/events spreading out from that. Once I have all the ideas, then I put them into chapter outlines

Actually, I have three methods - the third doesn't involve much planning at all as the book is character-based and purely linear. For this one I would simply do lots of research of the issues surrounding my character and then vaguely map out the book into three or four overall sections. Then I start at the beginning and keep going - it's as simple as that.

But the best way is simply to write - doesn't matter what. You'll find what works for you

Mike C

HOW TO START is a problem I've been addressing lately.

I've not written anything of value for some time, and have so many false starts and dead ends stored on my HD it's embarrassing. My solution (now I've suddenly been hit by 'the idea' is this: Bum on seat. Type like today is your last. If I hit a stumbling block, I leave a space and move on to a point where I know what's supposed to happen. Planning, for me (but not for everyone) is what bogs me down and sucks the joy out of writing. The sum total of my planning so far is two hours on trains, letting my mind race over an outline. The rest will happen as it happens.

The book is likely to have a largeish cast of significant characters, so the chances are I'll have to come up with some kind of thumbnail sketch for each at some point, but for now I, like my mc, are meeting these people for the first time. I know how the story starts, and I know what the final sentence will be, but the bits in between will happen as they happen - if I try to plan them now, they'll change anyway.

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Adjective Ocean

The only thing I can tell you is to start off interesting. I always have a major event or something attention grabbing put at the very start. This is good for the reader as well as the writer. Sadly, I can't really say exactly what would be an exciting beginning for your story. Only you can decide on that. I'm not sure if planning is the best way to go for the start, for you limit yourself if you plan the beginning. Keep a wide variety of possibilites open and pick the most striking one.

Loulou

Me too - the leaving a space part! I write the bits I'm sure of, that are just jumping onto the paper/keyboard, and then leave a gap and resume with a bit later along in the story that I'm ready to write. In my gap I usally put a line of X's (ie XXXXXXXX) and within this write some sort of silly note to myself, like "Write this when you have a brain."
When it comes to starting the novel.... I have the same difficulty. I have problems starting anything. So I never begin at the beginning. Ever. I start at a scene I know I'll enjoy writing, even if this takes place in what might end up as chapter eight. It gets my juices flowing, and the rest follows...
Planning-wise, I buy a notebook because I'm a scribbler. I have no outline on the computer, just the 'real' thing. I can take a notebook all over with me and scribble whenever I need. I may include random sentences, conversations....when I'm being strict with myself I write a timeline, a loose outline of the story from beginning to end, and character studys.

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Crews

Wow, these are all exceptional ideas. There is one thing I must say; I am the person that NEEDS to start at the beginning. I dont know why, but I can't write when I start in the middle of the story. And the Bum on Seat; that doesn't exactly work for me, because I want to write the story and my ideas at my own time. But thank you all for the ideas.

Aspiring, I am definitely going to consider the post-it-notes. They seem like an excellent idea. And Loulou; I have tons of notebooks downstairs. I am gonna go grab one right now. Thanks.

Thank you all for all the ideas. I now have my strategy of planning, and I will get started right away. Thank you guys once again.

SilkFX

This is terrible considering that I'm a writer, but my mind is currently in boggle mode regarding these threads about starting.

How do you start? You just START.

The really important thing to remember is that it doesn't have to be perfect. As I said in the other recent thread about starting, 90% of writing is REwriting. Get the whole thing down first, and yes, it's going to be messy, and yes, you're going to want to beat your head against the nearest hard surface, and yes, you're going to think you're the worst writer ever, but KEEP GOING...knowing that you have infinite chances to fix stuff later. If you're stuck on a spot, jump over it (take that space Mike mentions) and move on to something else. Things manage to fill themselves in over time.

What boggles me, I guess, is how many people come on this forum with these big potential bestsellers hanging over their heads like concrete blocks tied to fraying cords. "If I don't get this EXACTLY RIGHT, I'm dead! Oh my God! What do I do?"

NOBODY gets it exactly right the first time out. Just put one foot in front of the other (one word in front of the other) and next thing you know it'll be 400 pages later and you'll have a ton of material to wade through, clean up, toss out, etc. Accept the fact that rewriting is part of the job. I find it makes my life a lot less stressful when I know that I can always go back and fix stuff.

Re planning: I don't plan. I start and then later on as I'm starting to see some shape, I'll take notes on where I think this is going and what things might be added/changed/deleted. It's not so much planning as brainstorming.

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bob rulz

I'm not sure how I can help you, since I've never really had a problem starting stories. Generally I write several different beginnings and choose which one I like the best. Sometimes I have 4 or 5 beginnings by the time I'm through with it. I'm going through serious writer's block at the moment, but it's that "halfway through first chapter" thing. I start a story spontaneously, but I can't continue it unless I plan. I generally write things down in a Word document; a timeline, things that have happened, things that will happen. I have crafted a huge storyline that spreads over almost 1,000 years...but I don't focus on the whole thing. I focus on parts of it, the key parts. Sometimes I make it too complicated for myself. There's another key; don't make it too complicated! I'm not saying you do, just make sure you don't.

But generally, to start, choose a bunch of different methods and see what works for you. Try several different beginnings. I think planning isn't necessary until you start getting past the first few paragraphs. But that's just my opinion.

Crews

Thank you both. Your comments/ideas are both being considered greatly.